You need to have a positive life attitude and a passion for your career if you are going to join and stay in the catering industry.

Lau Lee Fong , Rosa, Senior General Manager of The Spaghetti House Restaurants Limited, says, “In catering industry, work is hard and working hours are long. In addition, customers nowadays have high requirements. So, a positive attitude towards life is essential for one to work in this field.

“Especially for front-line staff serving customers including waiters / waitresses and receptionists, a cheerful character and confident attitude are very important. It is because they may need to handle special situations and serve customers who have lots of demands. In addition, front-line staff have to be neat in appearance and courteous.”

Flourishing Business
According to Lau , labour is in high demand in catering industry these years. “As Hong Kong's economy has improved, people's consumption power has increased. More catering outlets have been established. Comparing with the second quarter of 2006, the number of non-Chinese restaurants has increased by 219 in the first quarter this year.”

In addition, some catering employees have shifted to other industries such as banking & finance, telecom, and some go to set up their own businesses. All these have resulted in more catering job positions available on the market.

Attitude & Aspirations
Working in catering industry requires teamwork. For example, Lau points out that dishes are not prepared by one chef only, but instead by the whole team. Therefore, a willingness to cooperate with other team members is essential. “However, it is equally important that one has a keen interest to learn to be a cook and the aspirations to be a good cook,” Lau adds. For junior chefs, they need to start from low-level work which may seem minor and trivial, but provides a good foundation.

If one would like to engage in front-line positions, an ability to speak different languages is an advantage. Lau says that job seekers with sound English and Putonghua skills will be hired to work in their branches in tourist spots in Hong Kong.

Promising Prospects
Advancement in career in the industry depends on performance and personal quality. For front-line positions in The Spaghetti House, one can start as a waiter / waitress, receptionist or cashier and move up as senior waiter, bar captain, captain, senior captain, branch management trainee, assistant supervisor, supervisor, assistant manager, branch manager and regional manager. For back-office, a kitchen assistant can be promoted to junior chef, assistant chef, chef, senior chef, 3rd chef, 2nd chef, training head chef, head chef and regional chef. Lau says it usually takes 4 to 5 years to get to the position of branch manager, and more than 5 years to be promoted to head chef.

To get promoted, front-line staff are advised to take English or management courses. For chefs, they should enhance their knowledge on food safety and hygiene, and cooking skills.

To help staff enhance their knowledge, the company provides training on various topics such as food safety, business operation, service techniques and customer psychology, complaint management, and teamwork building . Lau mentions that in July 2007, the company organized an Italian Food Festival and invited sommeliers to teach Italian wine knowledge to their staff.

Be Prepared for Growth
Currently, The Spaghetti House has 24 outlets in Hong Kong, and 3 branches in Southern China, with a total of near 1 , 000 employees. Since the company is expanding in business, staff are always encouraged to prepare themselves to cope with the growth. Lau says, “If you are willing to learn and love your career, you will have promising developments and can be the best in any industries.”